I'm a Mirage
by Tera Hunter
Summary: While blowing off steam, Hound encounters a human that seems unusually hostile towards Mirage. Curious, Hound follws the boy "home" and the plot only thickens from there. Hound and Mirage. Not slash. Long first chapter.


**A/N: Okay, random blurb to keep me happy since I've lost all of my stories. (I will not be depressed…Okay, I'm heartbroken. I wanna cry and kill something, but I loves my characters too much for that right now.) So, here's something new and random to pull me through until I redraw my plotlines for the stories. Please read, review, and feel sorry for the sad author…because a car killed her stories…sniffle…**

**Yeah…this is a result of a really weird picture in my head.**

I'm a Mirage: Random thoughts lead to strange inventions.

Monday, The Ark Hallways:

"_Oh…hello, Hound."_

"_Aw, don't be so formal, Mirage. I told you!"_

_Mirage shifted from foot to foot, simply looking in another direction. Hound waved his servo in Mirage's faceplate. "Um, hello? Best friend here? Just got back from spying on the Decepticons? How are you, how'd it go, anything ringing a bell?"_

_Mirage had smiled at the spying part, no doubt mocking Hound's "spying" skills compared to his own. There was a long moment of awkward silence while the green mech waited. Mirage didn't seem to notice for a few breems. Then he suddenly spun on his heel and left the hall, leavingthe stunned mech behind him without another word._

Wednesday, Common Room:

_Hound waved until Mirage was forced to respondand reluctantly approach the green mech's table._

"_What?" He snapped a tad harder than was necessary._

_Hound, slightly stung, opened his mouth twice before his vocalize kicked back in. "Geez, Mirage. Sleep well?"_

"_Yes. I did." Mirage replied curtly before spinning on his heel and marching away before Hound could tell him about his latest mission._

"_What the slag is up with him?" Ironhide asked, offended on Hound's behalf._

"_I don't know. He's been acting like that since I got back."_

"_He's distancing himself so he can kill us all when the moment comes for his return to the Decepticons. Just you wait and see." Cliffjumper muttered into his cube._

_Hound glanced at him in confusion. "I thought you got over harassing Mirage?"_

"_I did. Then he started acting all high-and-mighty-Towerling on me and Bumblebee again." Cliffjumper growled before leaving the table._

_Ironhide laughed. "Ah, don' worry 'bout it, Hound. S'probably jes a bad week."_

"_Yeah…I guess." Hound agreed, but inside he felt worried. Mirage always told him when something was wrong. Why hadn't he this time?_

Friday, Mess Hall:

_Hound didn't even try to approach Mirage. In fact, he sat on the opposite side of the hall and just watched as Mirage weaved his way to the back and sat beside Sunstreaker by the high command's table. He started up a lively conversation with the twins and Tracks and then leaned back, almost colliding with Prowl's chair as he watched them spin off into tangents._

_Hound felt his shoulders tense up slightly. Then he sighed and stood up, apologizing to the mechs he'd sat with. Dumping his tray in the disposal as he transformed, Hound rolled out of the Ark and towards the city. He needed to get a little air…and a break from Mirage._

Later, In the City:

Hound leaned back in the darkness of the alley, studying the hologram of his best friend standing before him. At least, _Hound_ considered him a friend. Who knew what Mirage thought, especially now?

Holo-Mirage appeared bored, and then a slight smirk appeared on his face as he shimmered in and out of existence several times. Hound rolled his optics. "Cut it out, Mirage."

Mirage glanced at him, folded his arms, and slumped backwards against the wall before sliding down to sit beside Hound. In reality, the saboteur would probably be a little tidier about his appearance, but Hound didn't really care at that point. He was still frustrated by the real Mirage's attitude that week. The green mech examined his friend for a moment and then sighed.

"I wish you were here, Mirage. For real. I don't know where you got that fragging cocky streak lately, but it has me on edge. Last week, you woulda loved to come out for a drive. Sure, you'd feign annoyance at all the humans around but you'd love to watch them wander about." Hound put a fist under his chin. "Humans must seem so strange to a mech from the Towers. I guess that's why you were never keen on hanging out with them. Heck, you weren't that interested in us Autobots at first, either, except for Jazz. I wonder if Jazz was a high-bot? I'll ask 'im later, I guess."

Hound glanced towards the street, a few yards away. "I suppose we should head back soon, huh? Maybe _you'll_ be in a better mood by the time we're back."

Holo-Mirage stood and walked to the end of the alleyway, peering around the corner, the way real Mirage would.

Beneath the hologram, a young human male came to an abrupt halt. For a moment he looked stunned as he studied the mech above him. Feeling a little mischevious, Hound made Holo-Mirage wave at the human. Hound waited for the organic to run away as Holo-Mirage turned to raise an eyeridge at the unwanted observer.

To Hound's surprise, the human's face twisted into rage. "You fragger. Rub it in, why don't you?" He snarled. His eyes flashed beneath his dark-blue hoodie as he stepped closer to the bot, glancing around to make sure no humans were listening as he continued to glare at the saboteur hologram. He didn't even appear to see Hound as the green illusionist, curious about the young fleshling's behavior, made Holo Mirage cock his head in confusion. "Do I know you?"

The human was absolutely livid now. "Better than anyone else. We both know who you are, and we both know that my friends will stop you."

Hound wanted to laugh. The organic was threatening an alien robot? He wished Blaster was here to record this.

"Your…friends." Holo Mirage repeated slowly. "I'm worried about this…how?"

The human's eyes narrowed. They were such a brilliant blue that Hound couldn't help noticing every movement they made. "I know them better than you ever will, regardless of programming. Just you wait. Hound will tear you apart when he figures this out."

"Hound?" Holo Mirage's optics brightened. ""You have a friend named Hound?"

The human's face, so pale it was almost white already, turned an ashen gray. "If you lay _one servo_ on my friend, I swear you'll wish Primus never spawned an Autobot."

Okay…that statement was confusing. Hound tried to get a closer look at the organic. He had dark, dark hair that wasn't quite black or any other color he'd seen on a human before. It was almost a hue of blue, probably dyed that way. The human wore a dark-blue hoodie with white patches on the front and back, a skateboard under one arm of the same coloring, and navy blue pants that looked like they'd been bought a day ago and then run through a military training course.

Then there were his eyes, those strangely brilliant blue eyes that seemed so familiar… Hound had Holo-Mirage kneel down next to the human and compared the two as the false mech spoke.

"Do you…need some help?"

The human looked startled. Maybe he hadn't expected the Autobot to be friendly. Was he one of those crazy humans that acted like all alien robots were evil? Time to prove him wrong.

"There is an organic medical center right down the street…" Holo-Mirage suggested.

The human's eyes flashed again. He stepped back, fists curled. "Don't you DARE patronize me, slagger."

Hound rolled his optics. Great, he was back to square one. Holo Mirage shook his head, annoyed. "I wasn't. Anyways, where did you pick up that lingo? I've never seen you at the Ark."

"_OF COURSE YOU HAVEN'T!" _The youngling exploded. "Primus, you stupid, rust-bitten piece of Quintesson scrap metal!" The human shouted at the top of his lungs, startling Hound and several passerby in the process. Holo-Mirage didn't move.

The human stared at the hologram. He seemed to study the large bot's form with…longing? Frustration? Rejection? Hound didn't know enough to tell the difference. Then liquid formed in the organic's eyes. "Fraggit…I will **not** leak coolant for you." He growled and spun away, wiping viciously at his face.

Holo-Mirage spoke again, uncertainly. "Look, I'm…sorry. Just…tell me your name and maybe we can work something out…"

The human glared back up towards him, but the fire was burned out of his stance. "You know who I am. We both know what you did to me." He mumbled, and then began to walk away. "Mark my words, fragger. I'll find a way onto that Ark and _then_ there will be a reckoning, believe me."

Hound watched the human go, too stunned to do anything else. _Sweet Primus _that_ was something. A human Clffjumper?_

Hound let the hologram flicker out of existence. For some reason, the human's conviction disturbed him. He wondered briefly if he should ask Mirage about it.

Hound transformed into vehicle mode.

_May as well find something to prove. Starting with whoever this guy _is_._

A few minutes later:

The human stopped at the edge of town in front of a large, abandoned warehouse. (Of course, since there's always one of those around when something is wrong.) Hound quietly pulled into a spot across the street, just close enough to see whatever was going on.

The human stared up at the "no entry" sign for a moment and the ripped hole in the fence. The organic glanced at his wrist, the watch on it was flashing to signal an appointment of some kind. The human stared, then his face twisted in rage again. He suddenly lashed out at the wall, swinging his foot hard enough to make a spiderweb of cracks on its surface.

Hound stared. The human was strong. The organic glared for a moment, then suddenly let out a cry of pain and fell to one knee, clutching his other leg.

_Okay, maybe not THAT strong…_

Hound got ready to start his engine. The human would probably need help if he was hurt badly and, regardless of his attitude, Hound was going to _get_ him help if he wanted it or not.

Two almost-human-sized figures slipped through the hole in the fence and glanced around. They were too bulky for organics and even from a distance Hound recognized them instantly. _Rumble and Frenzy? Now that boy REALLY needs help!_

All the same, he stayed where he was. First of all, it was always better to sneak up on the Cassetticons (they are WAY more dangerous than they look). Second, his curiosity regarding the boy was at a peak.

Rumble and Frenzy, satisfied they were alone, turned back to the organic and towered over him. Rumble laughed.

"Gotta be more careful, _fleshy_. You wouldn't want to hurt that delicate body o' yours."

"Yeah." Frenzy pitched in. "We might still need it for a doorstop or something."

"Nah. He's too cocky for a doorstop."

"Hehe…you're right. Maybe a few more weeks will break him."

The human lunged at him, startling Hound. Rumble crushed the organic against his chest as he fought to reach Frenzy.

"Frag you!" The human snarled. "You can't hold me forever!"

"_Au contrair_, buddy." Frenzy chuckled, not worried in the least. "Organics have really short life spans. _You_ of all people should know that we _can_ guard you forever." Frenzy shoved his faceplate into the human's. "You also know that, even if I'm _not_ allowed to _kill _you, I'll still do my very best to make your life a living Pit."

The human didn't even flinch. If anything, he fought harder while the twins mocked him.

Hound ran the confrontation over in his processor. _So…that's where he picked up on the lingo? Makes sense, I guess. But why does he hate Mirage?_

Feeling somewhat like a detective, Hound peeled his way out of the parking lot. Confident that the human would be "safe" (Frenzy mentioned that the human wouldn't be killed) Hound set a course for the Ark. It was time to ask his best buddy a few questions.

A few minutes later, Still on the road:

"Mirage?"

"Hound? What the slag are _you_ doing out here?"

Hound wheeled his altmode around to pull up next to his friend as they drove back towards the city.

"I…uh…needed a break. How about you?"

The blue racer slowed in uncertainty. "I was, um…going for a drive."

"Great. I'll come with you."

"No, that's all right. You should really head back to the Ark." Mirage insisted, pulling away from the green jeep.

Annoyed, Hound sped up. "Hold on! I want to talk to you!"

Mirage ignored him, turning suddenly onto an off ramp and taking off too quickly for Hound to keep up easily. Determined, Hound pulled off road and ran to where the road looped back around, catching up just in time and pulling in behind his friend.

"Frag it, Mirage, all I want is five minutes! Good grief, I thought we were friends?"

"Really?" Mirage replied.

Hound hit the brakes. He transformed, his optics wide. "What do you mean, _really_?"

Mirage slowed to a stop, as though he realized he'd screwed up at last. The bot transformed. "I…I'm sorry…Hound. I guess…I've been really edgy lately."

"I noticed." Hound replied dully. His spark was pounding in his chamber as he turned away and transformed. Mirage's hand wrapped around the jeep's back handlebar.

"Hold on, Hound! Look, let me make it up to you, okay? Just…wait until tomorrow. I'll be myself again, I promise."

Hound didn't move for a long time. He revved the engine once. "Fine. See you then." He said flatly.

Mirage let go. Hound took off down the road without looking back. His sensors told him that Mirage didn't move for a long moment; then the saboteur transformed and took off towards the city once more.

Saturday Morning, Hound's quarters:

_Mirage was lying in his arms. His friend's venting was hard and heavily laced with pain. The saboteur arched briefly, a small cry of pain escaping his lips. Hound pulled him closer, trying to protect him from the outside._

"_Hound! Hound, make it stop!" Mirage cried out._

"_I can't! You have to tell me what's hurting you!"_

_Mirage's hand went limp and slid from his chest, hitting the invisible floor with a thump. Hound followed the line of his friend's arm with his optics. A small cord of light suddenly arched from Mirage's hand, spiraling into the darkness where a small figure stood._

_The human from the alleyway spread his arm's wide, letting the cable sink into his chest. There was a satisfied smile on his face as energy shot through the cable and filled the small entity with power. Hound yelled at the human to stop it, and the organic looked up at him in surprise. Another human appeared beside him, too blurred to make out._

_Mirage panicked, shoving Hound away from him._

"_Run!" Mirage shouted as the second human solidified. _

"_RUN!" The human attached to Mirage repeated._

"**RUN!**_" The pair practically screamed, throwing Hound backwards._

_Mirage's eyes went blank. Then his hand wrapped around the small cord of light and yanked it from the human's chest. There was a piercing scream and both human and robot collapsed. Hound stretched his arm towards them and his eye's latched onto the new being. The second organic appeared confused for a moment. He was covered in light purple energon. Hound's energon, the green mech realized, as the human raised his brilliant blue eyes towards his own optics…_

**SNAP!**

"YEOWCH!" Hound yelped, leaping out of bed as a stinging pain lanced across his skidplate.

Sunstreaker laughed as Sideswipe spun the humongous rubber band around his finger. "See, Sunny? All we needed was a bigger rubber band and a sensitive spot and it works the same way as it does with organics!" He announced proudly.

Hound chased them from the room, furiously slamming the door shut after them. He collapsed back onto the berth, rubbing at his optic-shields irritably. "Little slaggers…I'll never remember that dream, now." He muttered.

"You okay?" A voice asked.

Hound smiled and glanced towards the corner of his empty room. "Yeah. It'll take more than those two terrors to ruin my day."

Mirage shimmered into view. "How did you know where I was?"

Hound rolled his eyes. "I've _always_ been able to tell, silly. You told me how a decade ago."

Mirage laughed. Hound smiled, relieved. "Haven't heard that recently. Good to have you back, Mirage."

Mirage slowed to a chuckle. "Don't worry, Hound. I've just been…busy."

"With what?"

Mirage looked away for a moment. "Oh, nothing. It's over now so don't worry about it."

Hound frowned. "Ah, come on!"

"Nope. Today it's all about me making everything up to you. I even got Prowl to excuse you for the day." Mirage grinned.

Hound blinked. "Really?"

"It wasn't too hard. He thought you needed a break anyhow. So, where do you want to go?"

Hound thought about it. A dark haired organic came to mind, then faded into the background. Hound did not want to deal with that right now. "I suppose we could…" The human came back, full force. Hound sighed. "Come on, Mirage. There's someone I want to meet today."

Later, In the city again:

Hound watched as the organic sulked up the street. His blue hood was pulled down over his face as he slumped into a park bench and shoved his hands into his pockets. He seemed even more irritated than the day before, if that were possible. A quick scan showed that the human was tired, too. He was only operating at, what, 65% capacity?

"There he is."

Mirage studied the human, a frown on his faceplate. "What about him?"

"He hates you."

"Oh, really?" Mirage replied, amusement in his tone.

"Yep. He acts like you ruined his life or something."

"Maybe I stepped on his car or something." Mirage chuckled. He stood.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to talk to the human."

"Really?" Hound was surprised. Mirage never wanted to talk to the humans. They were…what had he said before? _"Interesting, but not _that_ interesting._"

Mirage shrugged. "Sure. If it'll help you calm down. Want to come?"

Hound, still a little disturbed, shook his head and Mirage walked off. The human glanced up and once again his eyes flashed angrily. Then the human slumped back suddenly, all of his strength gone as the giant robot knelt next to him and began to speak softly, so not even Hound could hear.

The human listened intently, resigned anger smoldering in his blue eyes. He nodded once in a while. Once, he even replied to whatever Mirage was asking. The entire time they spoke, the boy kept his face averted and his eyes narrowed. A few people gave them odd looks before continuing onwards. Then the boy suddenly snapped and growled something harshly under his breath in the mech's direction. Whatever it was, Mirage laughed and patted the human's head with the tip of his finger. Then he stood and walked back to the alley, leaving the exhausted teenager on the bench.

"Thought so. I broke a window on his apartment while fighting one of the jets." He said, his trademark grin on his face.

Hound smiled, relieved. "Oh. That makes sense, I guess. Overreacted a little, though, didn't he?"

Mirage shrugged. "Eh, I'm not very good with humans. Come on, let's go get something to eat." The blue mech transformed and raced off. "I'll see you at base, Hound!"

Hound was about to reply when the human's head jerked upwards, catching his optic. The human stared at him, his eyes wide with…what? Probably shock. Hound transformed, a little unnerved, but didn't move.

The human glanced around, then he quickly stood and ran over towards him , slipping into his seat. Startled, Hound backed up and only just avoided hitting another car. "Hey! What are you…"

"Hound, you have to listen to me!" The human whispered quickly into his radio. Hound froze. How'd the organic know his name? Had Mirage told him? "That mech you just left, he's…"

There was a loud beeping sound. Turning on his internal vision, Hound realized it was from the boy's watch. He smacked it with his hand, but it continued to beep. "Crap. It activates when I'm near you!" The boy exclaimed, irritation and…fear?...in his voice as he took the steering wheel.

"HEY!" Hound yelled, truly annoyed now as the boy slid a hand under the dashboard and pulled three wires, rendering Hound useless and under the boy's control.

"Sorry, Hound, but we have to move before they catch us." He muttered, slamming his foot onto the gas.

"Ouch!?" Hound snapped.

"Sorry." He eased up slightly.

A few minutes later they were randomly cruising through town. The boy's hands were shaking as he drove, glancing behind them every two minutes. Hound had resided to sulky silence.

After a few minutes, the boy spoke. "I'm sorry, Hound. I can't shake them."

"Who?!" Hound had had it with the guessing games. "Fraggit, fleshy, I'm SICK of this. If you don't tell me what's going on, I swear I'll have Autobots on you in five breems or less!"

The boy sighed. "If only…" Then he brightened. "Actually, that's a great idea! Call the Autobots!"

"What?" Hound was now convinced the boy was nuts. "No!"

"Why not?"

"HELLO? You are hijacking me! Why the frag would I do ANYTHING you say?"

The boy fell silent for a long moment. "Because, Hound. I'm your best friend."

Something fell into place. "No you aren't. My best friend is Mirage." He growled.

The boy laughed. "I know. I'm Mirage."

At that moment, Hound's automatic recovery override kicked in (a little something Perceptor made when Tracks got hijacked) and he hit the brakes. The boy slammed into the wheel and then slumped over the side door with a groan. "Forgot about that…"

Hound transformed, moving the boy as soon as possible while he did so he wouldn't be caught in the conversion. He held the organic in one hand for a long moment. Then he ran a scan.

The boy looked irritated. "No, I'm not crazy, Hound."

"Oh yeah? Prove it." The green mech replied.

"Fine. Let me think…three stellar cycles ago you bet Jazz that you could fool the Ark into thinking the new recruits were all girls. You won, but you had to have a full remodel because two of the "femmes" were the Lambo Twins and they got offended."

"Keep talking." Hound growled.

"Fine, but we have to move as we talk or they'll catch us."

Hound took off at a trot, still eyeing the human with suspicion. "Who are _they_?"

"The Casseticons. They have a tracker under my watch."

"Take it off."

"_Under_it, Hound. Inside my wrist."

"…Ouch?"

"It didn't hurt. I was still in robot form when they did it."

"…still not convinced. Talk."

"Okay…remember when I took down the Decepticon ship and dropped it in Lake Eerie?"

"Yes, I remember when Mirage did that."

"Afterwards, you cornered me in the mess hall during the celebration party and started a fight with me for being stupid…I think you called me an 'arrogant Towerling scraplet with nothin' better to do but make everyone worried about you'."

Hound flinched.

"We had brig duty for a week and cleaned out the front entrance of the Ark twice for that. Convinced?"

"…Almost."

The organic sighed. "Fine. When I first met you…" He trailed off. "I…well, I was really rude to you."

"Yep, you were."

"You dumped some oil on me, accidentally, and I called you something like: 'the reason Towerlings don't mix with the lower ranks of filth'."

"Yeah, you really broke my spark." Hound said dryly.

The organic chuckled. It was nowhere as deep as Mirage's laugh, but it followed the same patterns. "Yeah, and _you_ broke my arm."

"Hey, if you grow up on the Energon Fields…"

"…you learn how to tussle or get you aft kicked for ya. Yeah, you told me that while we were recovering in the same ward, under Ratchet, no less."

Hound laughed. "Sweet Primus, I think I'm starting to believe you."

"Oh, come on!" Mirage complained. "Do I have to tell you everything?"

"Probably." Hound laughed. "How about you just tell me why you aren't a robot?"

Mirage, if that's who he was, bit his lower lip. "It's…complicated. Remember our battle three weeks ago?"

"…Um, yeah. Cliffjumper just about had your head when you got back from your disappearing act. You missed all the action."

"It wasn't an act, for once. Skywarp carried me off. They had a…protoform of some kind waiting. Starscream forced my neural connectors into Soundwave and Soundwave did his mind-thing with the protoform."

"Ouch."

"Oh, it didn't hurt until Shockwave turned the thing _on_." Mirage sighed. "When I woke up, they had already taken the protoform-me back. It looked, talked, and acted like me…kind of. It still wasn't sure who it was supposed to trust."

Hound nodded slowly, remembering his friend's odd behavior.

Mirage shrugged. "Flawed program, I guess. Anyways, they had it comeback every few days for a…recharge, I guess. It's personality and it's life force get drained the longer it says away from me. That, and they needed to download information from it."

Hound remembered Mirage leaning back in his chair, laughing as he watched the twins talking while Prowl, Optimus, and Jazz spoke about their next move at the table behind him.

Mirage shuddered. "Anyways, eventually they realized I was too far away and moved me here with Soundwave and the Casseticons, so my double could come and recharge quickly without being missed."

"So, that's why Mirage was so grouchy." Hound muttered.

Human Mirage shrugged. "I guess so."

"I wish I'd known sooner." Hound muttered. "I wouldn't have wasted time with the hologram yesterday."

"What?"

Hound explained as quickly as he could, now eyeing the road behind him. Mirage laughed. "So, _that's_ why it was so confused." The watch pinged once more, loudly, then faded into silence.

Hound glanced at it. "What does that mean?"

Mirage sighed. "It means I have to teach you how to race."

"What? I don't race, I'm a jeep!"

Mirage looked up into his friend's optics. "Then leave me here and go. If we can get me to Perceptor and have him take it out before they're close enough to activate it…"

"Activate what?"

"…then there is a chance. If we can't and they catch you…" Mirage shivered. "I don't want you to go through that. It's the true Pits, I'm telling you."

Hound felt something nag at his mind.

_The human …letting the cable sink into his chest…energy…stop it…Another human … too blurred to make out…Mirage's eyes… a piercing scream…latched onto the new being...confused for a moment. He was covered in …Hound's energon…the human raised his brilliant blue eyes towards his own optics… _

"Maybe it would be easier to leave me. They need me alive."

"Unless the 'secret' is compromised, meaning if I get away." Hound muttered. "You already thought of that, though." He sighed. "_Arrogant Towerling scraplet with nothin' better to do but make everyone worried about you_."

He transformed. "Get in. Buckle up. This is going to be really ugly."

Later, again…

_Fragging, no good, high flying, two pieced, Seeker spawned filth…_Mirage cursed mentally as Laserbeak fired at them, again. For some reason, despite having remained relatively fair-spoken throughout his sparkling years, the past three weeks seemed to have finally let his inner self out. Apparently, his inner self loved colorful words.

Hound yelped and the jeep jumped slightly, wavering before returning to the road. Mirage let go of the seat and put a hand on the dashboard. "You okay, Hound?"

"Yep. Little slagger clipped my exhaust pipe. Which way now?"

Mirage peered ahead of them. The road forked a short distance away. Right was full of cars that were moving quickly. Left had some slower cars farther apart. "Left. You'll want room to maneuver and you'll need to take advantage of their speed."

Hound peeled to the left as Mirage instructed and the gas pedal hit the floor. Mirage glanced back. Laserbeak was still on their tail, almost lazily skimming towards them from his traffic free space in the sky. Mirage made a face at the bird-like cassette and turned back around.

"Why isn't he shooting already?"

"He HAS been shooting, Hound."

"Yeah, and he should have hit by now. What the slag is he doing up there s they want you so bad?"

Mirage frowned, glancing backwards again for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "Pull up a map. Now."

Hound had a holo map, courtesy of a satellite, floating in front of Mirage in moments. The human cursed, rather loudly. "Get off the road! Quick!"

Hound had given up arguing with his friend, so he spun off the highway and onto the dirt surrounding it. Almost immediately, Laserbeak started shooting again, almost taking out Hound's rearview mirror.

"I guess we did _something_ right." Hound muttered, trying to dodge the flurry of lasers.

"I took us on the long road out, thinking we could loop back around to the Ark. There's a shorter way that cuts us off. I think Soundwave was waiting for us to wander into it."

"But we didn't, and now Laserbeak has to handle us until Soundwave and his buddies catch up." Hound would have grinned.

"Pretty much. We don't have much time, though, I didn't figure it out fast enough."

"…How much time?"

"Um, like…five breems?"

"…How far to the Ark?"

"Ten."

"…I'm going to have to fight them all, aren't I?"

"Yep."

**A/N Oh, and by the way, Hound: Laserbeak is jamming your signals. :D**

**Okay, this started out as a blurb and now I don't know how to end it. Should I let him be caught or should they get back to the Ark? That, and I haven't gotten around to why Mirage turned HUMAN. (I have a theory, still working on it.) Oh, and there may be some errors or crappy dialogue. Bad day. Sorry.**

**Yeah, not even ****I**** know what's going to happen. How lame is that?**

**Yeah…help? Please?**


End file.
